Logistics service provider DHL opened its Life Sciences & Health Campus in Wijchen-Nijmegen this past May 20th. This freight receiving- and sorting-center specializes in storage and shipping of pharmaceutical products and medical equipment. Oost NL played a supporting role for DHL in their expansion to this new location in Wijchen. The center is expected to create some 100 direct jobs for the province of Gelderland.
A crowd of around 50 clients and other relations witnessed the opening performed by Michiel Scheffer, Representative of the Provincial States in Gelderland, and John Schenders, CEO of DHL Supply Chain Benelux.
Modern and sustainable
The new distribution center will be called the Life Science & Healthcare Campus. This megacomplex mesures 44,000 m2 and will supply medicines and medical equipment to thousands of hospitals, doctors and researchers in more than 100 countries. The new distribution hall is modern and sustainably equipped and uses renewable energy exclusively. Everything is electric - no gas is used - and the center has its own water reservoir. Other sustainable features are LED lighting with movement sensors for both interior and exterior lighting, and its ventilation system makes use of recycled heat.
A jobs generator for the region
The new distribution center will bring the total number of DHL employees working in Nijmegen and Wijchen to 300.
Michiel Scheffer states, “The sustainable DHL campus is a jobs generator for the region and strengthens the position of Gelderland as a global testing ground for medical innovation.”
Development Agency Oost NL was able to play a role in establishing this center by helping DHL come in contact with local service providers and government agencies. It also supported DHL in the continued growth of pharmaceutical product and medical equipment logistics. At a certain point in the project, a workgroup was established, at DHL’s request, to research the possibility that DHL could play a more substantial role in providing drugs both to hospitals as well as directly to patients at home.
The new DHL distribution center reinforces the status of Wijchen/Nijmegen as a logistics hotspot. It connects Logistics Valley with another of the focal points of the region, namely: Life Science & Health. DHL paves the way towards better and more affordable healthcare as well as a safer society.
